Well, I have just celebrated my 40th K pouch anniversary...Aug 2 1979...monumentous change in my life.
I would not change it for all of the tea in China.
That said, you have your surgery done wherever you can find a surgeon who will do it, whether it be a K pouch or a BCIR it doesn't matter. Each surgeon makes his own mark on the surgery and has developed his own methods.
My surgeon, Dr Cohen, retired last year and I am heartbroken but very happy for him and grateful for all of the years that he has given me.
It had its complications and redos but that is my body and in no way his surgery that is responsible.
Challenges? Yes. But it is so much better than the alternative of an outside bag. I was 18 and could not even come close to imagining my life with one.
Which do I prefer? Who cares as long as it is a continent pouch and not an outside appliance (I have severe skin issues, a healing disease and allergies)...
The difference is negligible in the end. A good K pouch or BCIR are both fantastic.
I have had the living collar added to my K pouch so that it is a hybrid between the 2...any difference? Not really.
That said (and everyone above who has or has had one have said it well) you need to accept change and differences in your life and lifestyle. You need to learn how to chew and what not to eat for some of us. You need to accept that there is a learning curve that you must follow and that sometimes there will be complications and problems just like normal people.
Pouchitis, flu, dehydration, occlusions and diet are all part of our lives and we must accept them and accept that things will never be exactly the same.
That said, I still believe that all K pouch and BCIR surgeons are as close to God as a human being can get and that they all deserve our respect and applause.
Sharon